Shoe form or last.



. No. 703,686. 'Pa tanted July I, 1902.

' H. B. WALKER.

SHOE FORM 08 LAST. Applicflion filed Sept. so. 1001,;

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

HARRY B. WALKER, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE FORM OR LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 703,686, dated July 1, 1902. Application filed September 30, 1901. Serial No. 77,053. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY B. WALKER, of Brockton,in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe Forms or Lasts, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification. 7

My invention relates to improvements in shoe forms or lasts.

It has long been recognized that shoe forms or lasts which will serve to hold distended or in proper smooth filled out condition the vamp and quarters, or, in otherwords, the fore part of the uppers, of shoes and yet be capable of easy insertion into and withdrawal from the shoe are much to be desired, and various attempts to provide such a shoe form or last have been essayed, none of which, however, fully satisfy the need by reason of in-' adequacy or imperfection of adjustment and of complication of the construction of the form or last because of the necessity of employing elements auxiliary or in addition to the last proper. .In such prior lasts, furthermore, wherein there is provision for lateral expansion one section is adj u'stabl'y set into the remaining portion of the last and the setin section is expanded by auxiliary or additional devices, as before stated. A broken or a non-continuous line of the last is thus formed, making an abrupt break, which is undesirable in the contour. It is of importance in a last intended to serve the purpose accomplished by my invention that the contour-line shall be cougruous or continuous eral adjustability or contractibility; but a vertical adjustability is said to be attained by the spring or yielding quality of one part only of the last, which is said to be capable of being depressed toward the other part. Lasts embodying my invention differ therefrom in that both Wings of the forepart are resilient and have lateral contractibility and act on a different part of the shoe-upper and V To the end stated my invention consists,

first, in a shoe form or last constructed of a single integral piece of material, comprising a heel part formed integral with a fore part composed of a plurality of separated independent laterally-resilient wings adapted to be brought toward each other more or less, according to necessity, to reduce the trans verse dimension of the fore part of the form or last to facilitate its readyinsertion into and withdrawal from a shoe and having the capacity when introduced into a shoe (by reason of the inherent resiliency of the wings and their natural tendency to resume their normal free state) to draw away again and fill out the shoe vamp and'quarter or fore part of the upper, and, secondly, in such a last, so constructed and 'possessing such adaptability and capacity, having a construction and formation which facilitates bringing toward each other the separated independent laterally-resilient Wings of the fore part of the last to reduce the transverse dimension thereof.

It Will be observed that my improved last is adapted for use in connection with shoes of lesser .or greater width within, say, three of the contemplated or usual market variations in the widths of shoes of a given size or length.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a form or last, illustrating my invention. Fig. ,2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is along'itudinal section upon the line A A of Fig. 2; Fig. 4:, a transverse sectional view on the line B B of Figs. 1 and 2, looking toward the toe of the form orlast; and Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line C O of Fig. 3, looking toward the heel portion of the form or last.

In the said drawings the reference character 1 indicates generally the shoe form or last which has aheel portion 1, from which extends forwardly and integral therewith or in one piece therewith a plurality of separated independent laterally-resilient wings l separated by an intervening space 2,which opens at the toe part of the form or last, continues rearwardly toward the heel, and terminates at or near the place where the fore and heel parts of the form or last merge.

The laterally-resilient wings 1 are adapted to be brought toward each other more or less, as may be necessary, in the intervening and separating space 2 to reduce the transverse dimension of the fore part of the form or last and facilitate its ready insertion into and withdrawal from a shoe, each of the wings, as will be obvious from the foregoing description and drawings, being resilient and having the capacity of being made to assume a position different from that assumed when said wings are in their free normal state, whereby the transverse dimension of the form or last is reduced, as aforesaid, and whereby when the form or last is introduced into a shoe the fore part, composed of the independent laterally-resilient wings, has the capacity, by reason of the inherent resiliency of the material and the natural tendency of the wings, to resume their normal free state to draw away again from each other and fill out the shoe vamp and quarter or fore part of the upper.

My improved shoe form or last is capable of filling out the fore part of the upper, whether it be of lesser or greater width, within, say, three of the contemplated or usual market variations in the width of shoes of given size or length. Each wing of the fore part of the shoe form or last acts independently of the other in this endeavor to resume its normal position by springing outwardly laterally until it meets the upper of the shoe, filling out the interior space of the fore part of the shoe and presenting the upper in a smooth filledout condition.

To facilitate the bringing together of the independent, separated, laterallyresilient wings, I form an enlargement 3 of the separating-space 2 at the crotch thereof. This enlargement is preferably partly circular and facilitates the bringing together of the wings without any undue strain of the material where the wings merge into the heel portion, and this I regard as of considerable importance.

The heel portion of the last is provided with a socket 4 to receive a suitable handle 5 foruse in manipulating the same. This socket may also be used to receive the upper endof a fixed rod or pin to support the form or last in an inverted position while inserting the same into a shoe.

By my invention I provide an improved form or last having a continuous contour-line conforming to the shape of a shoe and which in and of itself inherently, without the necessity of the utilization of auxiliary or additional devices,is capable of being contracted for ready insertion into and withdrawal from the shoe in connection with which it is used and of expanding therein to fill out the fore part of the shoe and present the upper in a smooth filled-out condition.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A shoe form or last having a continuous contour-line, consisting of a heel part and a fore part, made of a single integral piece of material, said fore part consisting of two independent, separated, laterally-resilient wings extending from the heel part and adapted to be brought toward each other to reduce the transverse dimension of the form or last, to facilitate insertion into and Withdrawal from the shoe, and to draw away from each other within the shoe to fill out the forepart of the upper thereof, substantially as described.

2. A shoe form or last having a continuous contour-line, consisting of a heel part and a fore part made of a single integral piece of material, said fore part consisting of two independent, laterally-resilient wings extending from the heel part, separated by a space having an enlargement at its crotch, and adapted to be brought toward each other in the intervening space to reduce the transverse dimension of the form or last, to facilitate insertion into and withdrawal from the shoe, and to draw away from each other within the shoe to fill out the fore part of the upper thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 28th day of September, A. D. 1901.

HARRY B. \VALKER.

Witnesses:

N. G. LOMBARD, J. H. STEVENSON. 

